Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 27, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            Recently, Ms. Tonette shared with me a Wall StreetJournal article entitled, “What’s Wrong with the Teenage Mind?”  This article interested me for many reasons.  First, we now have a much better understanding of how students learn as a result of brain research that has been done over the last decade or so.  The article also described how the adolescent brain is caught in a struggle between the emotional center of the brain (the amygdala) and the area of the brain where decisions are made (the frontal cortex).  Unfortunately, for most young people, the amygdala has greater control of the brain and wins most struggles with logic and common sense.  This tiny, ancient center originated as the “survival” center and later became our center of those things that bring us pleasure and satisfaction. Combining the prehistoric survival instinct with the need to have fun, impress others, and win friends usually results in actions that even the teenager doesn’t understand.  It might even be that decisions that result in parents saying, “What was he thinking?” are made without thought and are simply a result of a revved-up amygdala locked in a “survival” mode.

The article compared a teenage brain to a car, saying that adolescents acquire an accelerator long before they can steer or brake.  Teens also often overestimate rewards and underestimate risks.  Even scarier in this scenario is the early exposure to drugs and alcohol during the teenage years.  We know that about 15% of our population has a predisposition to addiction to drugs (alcohol is a drug).  During those years when our amygdala is producing a lot of dopamine (the chemical in the brain from which we realize pleasure and satisfaction), it is easy for that 15% to become addicted as the drug replaces the dopamine and  the instinct for survival instead revolves around getting drugs.  Then the decision-making process is totally out of whack, and decisions that are made can have terrible consequences. 

As I read the article, I thought about our kids in grades 4-8 and some of the struggles they will, and are, encountering as they try to figure out who they are and how they fit in.  Sometimes, the banter I hear outside my office is totally amusing.  Some of the things that they say to one another are hilarious but often don’t make much sense, and I often find myself also wondering, “What are they thinking?”

But we have great kids here at GreenMount as well as involved parents who are successfully shepherding them through their stages of development.  And if you take anything away from today’s message, I hope it is that you will continue to be vigilant and never give up on your parenting skills.  We can do little to change brain chemistry, but we can provide an environment where decisions are discussed and reflection is a natural part of our children’s lives.  It’s a learning process. And in that process…

“Win small, win early, win often.” Gary Hamel

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 22, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            How do we begin to describe the China theme event?  Those of you who have been attending theme events for some time surely recognize the significance of this one.  We had the best participation by parents ever, with nearly 300 parents and guests attending!  We know that this was in part due to the fact that we held the event in the evening, enabling many of you frequently hampered by work schedules to attend.  It was indeed rewarding to see so many of you packed into our gym (probably over capacity, but who knew?).  Also, the feedback we received was very positive and many parents followed directions and asked the students questions about the work they have done.  Those questions were answered with surprising insight and knowledge.  I am so proud of our students and the teachers who have guided them to this conclusion.  We also had some feedback from visitors who have never attended a theme event.  As you can imagine, they were amazed at the whole thing.  Those of us who have been a part of fifteen or more theme events can certainly appreciate what the kids accomplished and the way they demonstrated their learning, and for some this kind of excellence is what is expected.  For someone experiencing a theme event for the first time, it was very special.

            Speaking of excellence, we discussed with the students before the event the idea of how their performances, displays, and demonstrations represent the concept of excellence.  They were right on when they talked about showing parents that they truly care about how they showcase their learning.  I thought that this was a breakthrough in the development of a culture of excellence that we are working to institutionalize.  I believe that we are well on the way toward reaching our goal of having students work intuitively to produce excellent products.

            Now it is on to our Baltimore theme.  This morning, a group of parents met to discuss ideas of how we might make this next theme significant.  We have a great opportunity here to teach our students about the city in which most of them live and to appreciate its history and unique characteristics. I was very impressed with the knowledge our parents have about Baltimore.  Perhaps we have even more parents who have some interesting perspectives on the city and how we might use your knowledge to enrich the learning of our students.  If you have suggestions, please email them to me and I will be sure to share them with the staff.  Thank you.

            Yesterday morning, I applauded our many students who learned some Chinese language.  I then challenged them to decipher the following Baltimorese:

“It spaced a snaid mora. Better pitcher snay tars owen. Ah got me somefar stain tars at the Tee Goz bay the Glimburny bopass.” What?

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 13, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            We are very excited this week because of the upcoming theme event.  We have just four days left to prepare, and I think you will be impressed with what the students have learned.  Today, at our Monday Meeting, we discussed this and it pleased me that the students, in response to my question of what the event would be, answered in unison, “Excellent!”  I know it will be.

Remember that the event is Thursday night, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a Chinese dinner beginning at 5:00.  This dinner will be very special because it is being prepared by Mark and Lilis Hauptman, who prepare authentic Chinese food a lot.  We are very fortunate to have this couple commit to such a huge task.  We may feed as many as 250 people!  So bring your drinks (no alcohol) and your plates and utensils and be prepared to be well fed and entertained. 

Most of the theme event will take place in the gym, but parts will be occurring in classrooms.  We ask that you try to spend a little time at each site reviewing the students’ work, trying not to congregate in any one place.  You will receive an agenda on Thursday night, and we will further explain your movement around the building at that time.

            Speaking of timelines, do you know that there are only 37 days until the first day of spring?  What happened to winter?  I shouldn’t ask that question.  However, it looks like we may escape the kind of winter we had last year.  But I’m not a weather man so don’t hold me to that.

Another important date is fast approaching. Amazingly enough, we only have 74 school days left!  There is so much to do in so little time, as is always the case. It seems to me that this happens every year.  Suddenly, we are staring at the end, only recently remembering the beginning.  To some, the days go faster.  Perhaps it is those who are having fun.  For me, that is definitely the case.  Each day here is an adventure and a reward.  If I haven’t thanked you lately, thanks for the opportunity to be part of this wonderful community.

“Time flies. It's up to you to be the navigator.” - Robert Orben

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (February 6, 2012)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            On Wednesday, January 25, the All Parent Meeting included an opportunity for you to be part of several groups to discuss different aspects of the school program as well as ideas about co-op, work days, homework, communications, report cards, parent conferences, weekly reports, grading, building and grounds, and others. 

While many of the items suggested have already been in the works, today I would like to give you some feedback about the building and grounds.  First of all, we have no plans to move.  We have an excellent lease agreement with the city, and basically all we have to pay for is our gas and electric, a yearly lease that would make your house payment look like a fortune (maybe it feels like that), and basic repairs to the interior.  Some have referred to our agreement as a “sweet deal.”  Our lease will be renegotiated in eight years, and I am confident that the city wants us to remain here.  We add to the community and take good care of one of their buildings.

Your questions about the building and grounds included the following:

• Gym acoustics – we have researched several possibilities to make our gym more acoustically efficient.  The best solution we have found requires a lot of material for sound dampening at a cost around $5,000.  We are also exploring other less-expensive options.  If you have suggestions, please let us know.
• Dust bunnies in the gym – because of the traffic in the gym, PE classes where students shoes disperse their sole contents and lunch, the gym contains more debris than other areas of the building.  Next week, the gym is receiving a thorough cleaning and waxing and will look great.  In the past, we have had a crew of parents that came in on some Saturdays or after school to clean the floor.  It is a good co-op job and, if you are interested, we would welcome your participation.
• Parking – we have plans to build up a ramp as suggested so that cars can negotiate the curb at the end of the parking lot.  This will be a workday job and may be completed as early as Feb. 11.
• Plumbing – Phil Jacoby has been inspecting valves and has repaired toilets for us so that all fixtures are working properly.  The city has been called to replace valves so that the kindergarten bathroom can be operational again.  Towel dispensers will be lowered.
• Outdoor classroom – at the beginning of the year we began to investigate the possibility of enclosing the space with plastic curtains.  The best estimate we got was for $3,500 and may be included in next year’s budget.  A space heater is out of the question for reasons of safety and code.
• Building exterior – the city has filled in the back of the building to diminish settling.  We will have to wait to see how this works before we repair cracks in the brick.  Ms. Elizabeth’s classroom walkway will consist of pebbles with stepping stones imbedded and will most likely be completed on Feb. 11 depending on parent participation.  We do have access to the new fields and students have already been on them.  We are planning along with neighborhood leaders to install two stations for bags for dog waste.  This will also be a co-op job.  The low spot in the walkway leading to the learning cottage will be addressed by installing a French drain around the area (work day job).

 Every item that was discussed concerning building and grounds is currently being addressed.  However, some items will require extra funds which may not be available until the end of the year.

            A final note: We all wonder what happened to winter!  Even this week the temperatures are expected to be well-above normal.  This time last year I wrote about the loss of two days due to the snow, but so far Old Man Winter has been kind to us.  However, we are not out of the woods yet.  I’m old enough to remember the blizzard of ’58, when I missed a week of school in the middle of April.  It is likely that we will still have a weather-related closing.  So remember our procedure as outlined in the parent handbook.  When you suspect we might be closed or have a delayed opening, tune in to WBAL TV and radio for an announcement about GMS.  I will post it by 6:00 a.m. on the morning in question.  If we have an early closing, we will also post it on WBAL as well as our web site.  We will send out an e-mail blast and use the phone tree for those parents who have provided room parents with their information.

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
~Charles G. Stater

Cheers,

Steve