Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 30, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

On Saturday, Ms. Elaine and I presented at the 2^nd Annual Progressive Schools Summit, held at City Neighbors Hamilton High School.  Our presentation focused on the work we have been doing to create a culture of excellence at our school.  The workshop went well and our audience asked a lot of questions about our direction and how we were trying to inculcate the idea of excellence as an important part of the school culture.  The discussion was very interesting and also gave us pause to reflect on our success so far.  We explained to our audience that cultural shifts in a school can take years to occur, and even though GreenMount students are generally the kind of students who strive for excellence, it isn’t always obvious that this is something that is intrinsic.

So today, I asked the students at our Monday Morning Meeting how they think we are doing in our pursuit of a culture of excellence. I was pleased to learn that they understand excellence as being the quality of work that represents their best effort, and something they care about.  Students also shared that their excellent work is a result of the tools they have in their toolboxes.  One younger student expressed that each of us has a big tool in our toolbox that is something for which they have a special talent.  Several students then gave examples of those big tools that they possess, and it was interesting to hear what they thought were their special tools. Each example, by the way, was fodder for a discussion about why their special talent was important.  One student mentioned fencing as his special tool. Through questioning, it was determined that in order to fence well, one must be disciplined and in good physical condition.  When questioned by a teacher about his acquisition of this skill, it became apparent that it took many tries to find success to be even considered adequate as a fencer.

This led to discussion of the fact that, in order to produce excellent work, it takes many tries and failures before something becomes a permanent part of our toolboxes.  I think that we are making good progress in this effort, and I encourage all parents to be part of the discussion with your children.  Here are some important points to emphasize as you discuss excellence around the dinner table:

• Excellence represents that which you care deeply about and something that reflects the best you can do given the tools you have.
• Many “drafts” or attempts to reach a goal are required before you can attain excellence.
• Excellence can only be attained by establishing a value for the product.
• Once a value is established and understood, it takes effort and hard work to achieve excellence.
• All of us have special talents and creativity. We can attain excellence by using our best tools and improving others so that our toolbox becomes full of useful things.
• Excellence comes as a result of trials, errors and, many times, disappointment.
• We all have examples of achieving excellence.  Share them with your children.  Discuss how you used the tools in your toolbox to create an excellent product.

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 23, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            This morning, at our meeting with the students, we celebrated the first day of the Chinese New Year.  Thanks to Ms. Jen and her trip to China in the fall, each child received a red envelope with some real Chinese money in it.  Ms. Laura’s kindergartners recited the Chinese wish for a “healthy and prosperous new year,” which they spoke as “Gung Hay Fat Choy.”  I also found that the first day of Chinese New Year is the day set aside for showing respect to one’s elders.  Being the oldest person in this building…well, we’ll see.

            Also, as part of this morning’s meeting we talked a little about the Ravens and their loss yesterday.  I found it interesting that everyone is upset with Billy Cundiff and his missed field goal attempt, which ended the Raven’s season.  I talked to the students about his courage to come before the press after the game and assume responsibility for missing that kick and the result it had on the chances for a Super Bowl appearance.  I was also impressed with his statement about how he was going to use this experience to model for his children how to deal with failure, learn from it and move on.  I thought what he said was even more powerful then he imagined.  It certainly fit nicely into the conversation I had with the students the week before about failing forward.  Perhaps this is another opportunity for you to talk to your kids about team play, failures as a team and the support a team member gets even when he lets the team down.

            If you visit the gym any time soon, you will see that the climbing wall project is under way.  We had a great crew here on Saturday for workday, and not only was the climbing wall nearly completed, but the building looked great for the Open House on Sunday, which was very successful considering the weather and the playoff game.  I think it is safe to say that we are now on the map.  Thanks to you and our marketing and development initiatives, GreenMount is no longer the school no one has heard of.  Twenty-six families visited yesterday, and all seemed very pleased with what they saw and heard.  As usual, our student guides impressed the visitors with their poise and understanding about their school.  We also had parents here to help with the tours, including several board members.  It is days like yesterday that remind me of what a great school community we have here – parents helping with tedious jobs or big construction projects, students who are proud of their school leading families around, and a general sense of this as a happy place where children are growing into interesting, confident, creative people. Who wouldn’t love the atmosphere and the feeling we all share at GreenMount?

This is one of those moments of reflection during which I realize how fortunate I am personally to have landed here.  Life has some interesting twist and turns, but when you are my age and this is the result of whatever choices you have made, you have to be content and feel that everything that happened did so for a reason.

“Maybe Fate isn't the pond you swim in but the fisherman floating on top of it, letting you run the line wild until you are weary enough to be reeled back in.” – Jodi Picoult

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 17, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            This morning at our meeting with the students, we talked about failure.  My goal was to have the students understand that failure is a necessary component of learning and of ultimate success.  I surprised myself as I revealed my own personal and professional failures, ranging from the trouble I got into learning to ride a bike (I crashed into my neighbor’s car, a brand new 1950 Ford convertible) to my unsuccessful attempts to emulate John Wayne’s equestrian skills to failing to reach the final four in the competition to be chosen for the Teacher in Space Program.

            We all experience failure, probably on a daily basis. But as adults, when we fail to get that project done on time or fail to resolve that conflict with our partner, we move on and try again because our experience helps us to understand that it might take some time to resolve that conflict.  And we also understand the value of investing time, strategies and repeated efforts, so that failure does not occur and we can move on to the next challenge that life hands us.  Kids don’t always get this.  They are often discouraged by failure and have a hard time seeing it as a pathway to learning.  Teachers know that while a lot is learned as we fail in life, failure itself is not necessarily the building block for success.  Success is. As a staff of educators we are always looking for those small wins upon which to build more success.  This is much more successful with children and adolescents than helping them realize that failure can be a good thing.  However, as adults, we must still teach our children that it is through failure that we grow intellectually and emotionally.  After all, failure usually comes when we try something new.  To avoid failure would be to avoid new experiences – to be safe in what we know.  So encourage your children to build on their successes, to value their failure, and to continue to try new things.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

            Next week, we will be celebrating the Chinese New Year.  Each day we will have a different activity, culminating with a morning-long celebration on Thursday.  If you would like to help with any of the activities, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher to discuss what role you might take.

           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 9, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            As we approach the halfway point in the school year (January 25), it is time to revisit our goals for the year and evaluate our performance thus far.  It’s time for a state-of-the-school appraisal.

            The timing is good for this as this benchmark occurs on the last day of parent conferences.  These conferences are especially important because we must look at the progress of each child and make plans for successful learning as we go forward into the second half.  Teachers know that these conferences are important, which is why we are willing to relinquish class time on these days to make sure that we have time for good conversations and planning with parents.  In order to make these conferences effective and efficient, I recommend that you come prepared with specific questions and that you e-mail those questions to the teachers ahead of time so that they can be prepared to answer them.  For ideas about how the conference should proceed, check the National PTA web site at http://www.pta.org/2532.htm.

The sign-up sheets for conferences will be posted next week and you are encouraged to try to schedule conferences so that you can discuss your child’s progress with several of his/her teachers at once.  Even with 15 hours of conference time allotted over three days, you or the teachers may find that you need additional time to complete your discussions.  This is why your planning for the conference is so important.  If you have an agenda of what you would like to learn, it will be fairly easy for you and the teacher to prioritize the topics and decide what can be discussed in a subsequent conference.

            Another important benchmark around our halfway point is the All Family Meeting on January 25 at 6:30 p.m.  At this meeting, you will learn the board’s decision about tuition for 2012-2013 and you will receive contracts for the coming year.  Similarly, teachers will be holding their mid-year goals conferences. At these conferences, teachers revisit their three goals for the year and evaluate their progress in reaching them.  Goals for teachers are professional goals - ones which are designed to enhance their craft and build on their knowledge of best practices.  The goals are inextricably connected to your children’s success, which is the result rather than the goal itself.  In other words, what does a teacher need to learn to make his/her students more successful?

            This is also the time of the year when the administration evaluates its leadership effectiveness and the goals we have set for the year.  Also, the board evaluates my performance based on my self-reflection and the input of board members.

            So, you see, this is a time of reflection - a time when we look back…and forward.  What have we done well? What have we learned?  How can we improve? Where do we go from here?

I hope you reviewed the vision statement that came home last week.  It is the vision of what we hope to become that establishes our goals and the strategies to reach them.  Look at the vision and think about its components.  Is this still the vision we have for our school?  Have we reached a point where we envision loftier things for GreenMount?  If you have suggestions concerning the vision, please contact me so that we may begin a discussion.

"If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere." - Henry Kissinger

           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (January 3, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Welcome back, and Happy New Year!  It was great to see the students this morning –they all seemed happy to be back in school (can you believe that?), and especially happy to reconnect with their friends.  The friendships that our students develop while at GMS are the kind that I know from experience will last a lifetime.  Believe it or not, I still have several friends that I see regularly that were my friends from elementary school.  In fact, we had our 10^th annual elementary school reunion last year.  To see these people at least annually is a testament to how we connected so many years ago.  I certainly hope, and I do anticipate, that the kids here will have the same wonderful experience.

            So, it’s 2012!  Have you made all those resolutions?  I recently heard that one should not make resolutions but rather set goals.  As we think about the bright future of The GreenMount School, we have some very specific goals for 2012.  These goals are based on The GreenMount School Vision that is attached to this bulletin for your annual review.  It is important that we consider the Vision often, for it is from the Vision that we derive our goals.

If we look at the Vision for students, a clear goal is to constantly improve our instructional program and strengthen the skills of the teaching staff. One way we will be doing that this year is by reviewing our science curriculum as a committee of parents and teachers.  Also, at our first staff meeting for 2012 on Friday, we will be reviewing the adult learning that has taken place over the last year and setting goals for future professional development based on what is best for your children.  It is only through a strong, committed, learning faculty that we will continue to have a steady curve of improvement and refinement of best practices.

A goal for parents is to facilitate communication and opportunities to participate effectively in the educational process and contribute to the health of the school. 

The administration will look for every opportunity to improve leadership skills in working with students, parents, and teachers.

The Board of Trustees will provide supportive oversight of the school and monitor the financial health of the school as it sets tuition rates and replenishes our reserve fund for future growth and security.

“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

Jim Rohn

As expressed in the quote above, the staff at GMS believes that the process is often more important than the product.  As we have seen with so many of our students who go on to other educational experiences, they are well prepared to meet almost any challenge that faces them.  This is because we value the learning experience above what is learned.  The experience of reaching a goal as an individual or as a school is what will continue to make us an exceptional place for students and adults to learn and grow to be capable, competent, contributing and confident.  I look forward to this new year and wish each of you happiness and satisfaction, especially as they relate to your child’s life as a GreenMountineer.

Cheers,

Steve