Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 24, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            In case you have been wondering about our Monday Morning meetings (I’m sure you have), they have been going well so far and the students have been great.  At these meetings we discuss the ways we can demonstrate excellence specifically through our Pillars.  The first week, we began with our academic pillar and the idea of students putting forth their personal best.  Last week, we discussed being prepared to learn, and today we talked about what it means to be an active listener.  I have been very pleased with the responses of the students and also happy that the teachers, who are always on hand, often can add significantly to the conversation.

But it is the kids who impress me the most.  Over the years that we have been talking about our Pillars, it has become obvious that they (the Pillars) are becoming a part of our culture. The responses that we receive are insightful and certainly represent the ideas we have been talking about for the last four years.  Even new students appear to have an intuitive sense of what these Pillars mean.  This is especially important because it means that the positive peer influence is working to everyone’s advantage.  We all know that adults can talk until they are blue in the face about values and positive behaviors, but when something like putting forth your personal best becomes cool, it is snatched up by everyone as the right thing to do.  It’s kind of funny how these things work, isn’t it?  I am sure that as parents you have experienced the same thing.  I know I did.  When did it become cool to wear mismatched socks?  Evidently, it did because many of our students do just that.

More importantly, I have noticed that it is cool to READ here at GreenMount.  Every day, as we get ready to enter the building, several students are sitting in the gated area reading.  I have also noticed over the last few years that students who did not appear to be interested in reading can now be seen with their faces in a book.  I even see kids at recess sitting under the playground equipment reading.  Now, you can say that this is extreme and that these individuals should be playing and getting exercise.  This is probably true.  But the point is that reading is becoming more a part of the GMS culture.

As we work with students this year, our goal is to create that culture of excellence, where it is cool to be excellent.  You can help by using the language of excellence that I described in the first newsletter on September 5.  Let’s all work together to make it cool to be excellent.

           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 18, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

                Today, I have some nuts and bolts to review with you that are typically discussed at this time of year.  First, let’s talk about parking and traffic flow.  Here are some rules that we have to ensure efficiency and safety during arrival and dismissal:

• Do not park along the yellow curb behind the designated parking spaces.

• Always leave our handicapped space available for those who have the proper parking permit.

• Do not park on the curb in front of the flagpole.  This space is for drop-off only.  Parents must safely discharge their children and then move their cars for another person to do the same.

• When possible, drop your children off at Miles Avenue. A parent is always on duty to make sure your child gets from the playground to the building.  The teacher on duty or I will be outside to watch the children as they make their way from the playground.

• Do not try to turn around at Miles Avenue.  If you need to travel East after drop-off, make your way to Sisson Street and go left or right to pick up 28^th Street or Wyman Park Drive.

• You may also choose to drop your child off at the church, although there is no supervision for that half-block from Huntingdon to Miles.

• Please make sure that students do not have to cross the street unsupervised.

• For parking at events, parents and guests may park on the grass behind the learning cottage.  A ramp has been built there and soon we will be adding mulch to the other side so that lower cars do not bottom out.

• The front gate will be opened from now on at 8:00.  We now find it necessary to begin enforcing this rule, which is in the handbook, because students are being dropped off to wait in the gated area without supervision.  This is clearly an unsafe situation for our children.  We would rather have students arrive late than in a possibly unsafe situation before 8:00 a.m.

             Not so much nuts and bolts: Ms. Elaine has decided to become a part-time employee at The GreenMount School so that she can devote more time being a mommy to Piper.  And who wouldn’t want to spend more time with that little darlin’?  This has been a tough decision for Elaine, but we are hoping that it will not be a permanent one.  This year, Elaine will continue to be the Admissions Director and will also coordinate our 20^th year anniversary, working with alumni, and our five-year AIMS accreditation visit.  Taking over her other duties will be Janine Spiker, who will be working closely with Jen in the office and coordinating our co-op efforts.  Janine has experience as a teacher and has worked at Towson University in their admissions and development offices.  We are pleased with the experience and expertise she brings.

                Finally, at today’s morning meeting I was happy to provide some positive feedback for all of our students.  I congratulated all the 7^th and 8^th grade students for the way they waited patiently and respectfully outside their homeroom while we concluded a meeting we were having with the science committee.  I was also happy to compliment all of the students on their way into the gym as they sat quickly and quietly, giving me their attention without me asking for it.  I told them, “Good job!” However, after saying this, I immediately reminded myself that this was not feedback.  I had not described specifically what they had done that elicited my comment.  But then I began to think that specifics were not needed in this case.  The kids just needed to know that I was very pleased with them for the way they entered the gym.  They actually know what they did that was a good job.

So, thinking about last week’s message, I want to be clear that we are going to continue to give our students those high-fives and spontaneous cheers for their actions and their work.  But when we are providing feedback for written work or projects or presentations that they are preparing, we will be specific with our feedback so that the students are clear about expectations and where they are in the learning process.  “Well done,” “Good job,” and even “Atta boy/girl” will remain part of the vocabulary we use with kids.  We will continue to use encouraging language as well as specific language in our communications with students.

               

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 10, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            At today’s Monday Morning Meeting, Ms. Elaine demonstrated how our Pillars work to guide each of us as we work to create a culture of excellence in our school.  We also spoke to the students about some of the expectations that we have as we work on this initiative for the third year. 

We had a long conversation about this idea at our staff meeting on Friday, and it was good to acknowledge all that we currently do to celebrate excellent work and behavior.  Indeed, The GreenMount School is one that for twenty years now has been growing this kind of culture. 

But there is always more to do.  So, as a staff we will be continuing our efforts to refine our approach to establishing this culture.  For example, at the end of last year we watched a powerful YouTube video about the power of words.  The blind man was getting very little help from passersby, who read his sign that said, “Blind, please help.”  At one point, a woman stopped and took the sign and wrote something on it.  Subsequently, people began dropping money in the man’s hat one after another.  The man did not know what the woman wrote, but the audience then saw the words, “It’s a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”  The power of words…As a staff we are exploring how we speak to children and how our words are powerful – for better or worse.  We must realize that our words and body language send strong messages to children and that in order to cultivate excellence, we must carefully choose words that encourage students and give them meaningful feedback. 

This week, we are reading an article from Educational Leadership about feedback that is given to students.  The author is Grant Wiggins, who is best known for his work with Baltimorean Jay McTighe and Understanding by Design.  This interesting article reveals to us, as teachers, some of the discrepancies that exist in what we think is feedback. For example, have you ever heard feedback that sounds like this?

-          You need more examples in your report.

-          You should have included some essential questions in your unit plan.

-          Good work!

-          I’m so pleased with your poster!

None of this is meaningful feedback.  The first two examples are actually advice while the second two are value judgments.   Instead of “Good work,” we should offer feedback such as, “Do you remember when you couldn’t do this exercise?”  or “You cited 18 authors in your report.  What strategies did you use to find so many authors?”

It is sometimes scary to think of the power adults have over children, and words often express that power.  The staff at GMS is working to make sure that words convey positive growth for every child, even when the conversation is a result of a bad choice that a student has made.  Students who come to me with a behavior reflection get a chance to do just that – reflect – to use their own words to understand the choices they have made and how they may hinder them from demonstrating excellence.

            Parents and teachers are charged with an awesome responsibility.  Together, we must continually strive to give our children the right message so that they become confident, capable and contributing learners.

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas” – Paula Poundstone

           

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (September 4, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            WELCOME BACK!  This morning, we finally got our families back from what I hope was a productive and enjoyable summer vacation.  For some of you, today was an anxious moment and one in which you already began missing your children.  For others, it was noted that you did not hesitate to click your heels and let out a hearty “Yahoo!” as you left the gated area. (The gated area, by the way, was heavily congested today due to almost everyone arriving on time.  I hope that habit continues as it is important for students to be present for the morning meeting and to begin each day with their classmates.)

            I am seeing lots of smiles today, and it does my heart good to see how welcoming our “old timers” are being to the very large group of new students that have joined us.  This new group of students seems excellent and we are all excited about how they will contribute to the school. We are also especially excited about the families who have joined us.  It was obvious during our picnic last week that we are continuing to gain parents who will be tremendous assets to our school with the many talents they bring.  I hope that all parents will consider visiting classrooms to talk to students about your professions and skills that you have developed as adults.  It is important for kids to understand that it takes hard work and persistence to achieve success in life and that we are all learners, no matter what our age.

            Speaking of success, this summer I read Outliers by Malcomb Gladwell.  What a great book!  I loved it because it spoke to me about the need for opportunities to be given to children to find their passion and that which will drive their inquisitive minds.  The research in the book is very interesting and relates especially well to the kind of standards that we are growing to build a culture of excellence in our school.  If some of you have read the book or would like to, I think we could have a great discussion about it.

           

            Many parents and teachers, both new and returning (notice I didn’t say “old”), are very kind in their praise of our school and our approach to learning.  We believe that approach is fashioned to create learners that will be equipped to meet the challenges of a future about which we can only speculate.  It is an exciting and yet uncertain future that our children face, and who knows what will face our kindergarteners in 2062 when they are retiring?! So, we know that we have a great responsibility to create a culture in our school where the “cool” thing to do is to work hard and achieve our very best.  We have laid out a plan for inculcating excellence, and that plan is shared with you on the following page.  Our professional development plans for the year will extend our research and discussion in creating this culture and I hope you will join us in using the language that inspires children to take risks, strive for excellence, and unleash their curiosity and innovative spirit.  Each year at GreenMount is better than the previous one, and as our staff learns, so do the children.  It will be a banner year for all of us.  Aren’t you excited?

            The same quote as last year.  We are still pursuing this goal:

E X C E L L E N C E

“Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise; risking more than others think is safe.  Dreaming more than others practical and expecting more than others think is possible”

Cheers,

Steve