Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 26, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

             Okay, check me on this: December starts on Saturday and we only have 24 days until we close for the winter break.  Is that right?!  Didn’t we just return from the summer break?  Something must be wrong with my biological clock.  These things keep sneaking up on me.  I guess it’s an age thing and probably most of the kids think that we have been in school forever.  It would make me feel better if I knew that some of you are also surprised by how quickly the year is flying by.  But then again, it’s always the same story.  We’re very busy and we are all working hard.  The days trip over one another to end and, before you know it, another year has passed.

            However, in the spirit of the season I can say that I am very thankful for every day that I have to spend here at GreenMount.  Maybe that’s why the days go by so quickly.  Maybe it’s the trick that nature plays on us: when you’re having fun, the time flies; when you are not, time stands still.  So, I guess I am thankful that time is flying by.  I am certainly having fun.

            Today, in our Morning Meeting, I told the students that I had a gift for all of them – a full week of school! No one cheered. November has been peppered with days off, and this is actually the first week that we have the students every day.  But I guess I don’t have to tell you that!

            As mentioned above, I am indeed thankful for each day at GMS.  In particular, I am thankful for:

• Parents who donate their time and expertise to further the goals of our school.  For most, the 40 hours of required service seems to be secondary to the desire to make meaningful contributions;
• Parents who model learning for their children and whose presence at theme events and other school activities describes the volume of our community and how together we are growing exceptional students;
• Grandparents who support the school and lavish us with compliments (a great turnout last week, by the way);
• Students who come to school each morning with a smile on their faces, well-prepared for the day and eager to learn;
• Students who greet me and each other as the day begins with a handshake and a cheerful “Good morning, Mr. Steve” (the best part of my day!);
• Teachers who bring to their job a genuine love for their craft;
• And teachers who work tirelessly to provide meaningful, experiential learning experiences for children. 

Finally, I am thankful for my wife who, while dealing with a school of 700+ students and 67 staff members in grades K-5 herself, listens patiently to my stories of the pure joy that results from working in a school with 100 students, 17 staff members and parents who contribute so significantly to our success.

            So, go ahead, 2012-2013 - fly by.  I already know that 2013-2014 is going to be another great year at GreenMount.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 19, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

Thank you all for attending and participating in the year’s first theme event. Also, special thanks for those who cooked and prepared the food. All the students’ work was also excellent, from the costumes and accents to the essays and the classwork, and not just in Theme Studies; students have also moved up to higher levels in math and the other classes. The parents who helped set-up the school for the event (and the subsequent clean-up) are much appreciated, as are the teachers for teaching this theme.

Another thing to note…Grandparent’s Day! Lots of special fun for students, friends, grandparents, and other family members.

We also give a special thanks to everyone – students, teachers, and parents – for all their hard work during this year’s theme and hope you will participate as much as you have in the past.

As for Thanksgiving, we hope you have a good time together, enjoy yourselves, and eat lots of good food. And to those who are traveling: don’t rush, and be safe while driving there.

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." - Erma Bombeck

Cheers,

Mr. Angus (Head of School for the day)

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 12, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            On Thursday evening, we will present our first theme event for the year, We All Come from Somewhere.  The purpose of this theme has been for students to investigate and understand that our country - or any country, for that matter - is made up of people from many different backgrounds.  Consequently, we feel that our students now have a greater appreciation for the valuable role that diversity plays in the success of a country, a state, and even a small organization like The GreenMount School.  We feel that it is important for students to have a global view of the world and to value the contributions of each individual or group.  This is part of who we are as stated in our philosophy: “Students develop academic, behavioral, and personal skills that enable them to thrive in different environments.”   

            At the AIMS conference last week, heads of school listened to Ron Goldblatt, Executive Director, as he presented data that shows the decline in enrollment in independent schools since 2006 (a dilemma that we are not experiencing).  His point was to connect the economic downturn to this change in families choosing an independent school education.  He and his audience discussed ways to create a resurgence of enrollment in spite of the economic woes that will be with us for some time, it seems.

I spoke with him later and offered a different perspective – the GreenMount perspective.  I told him about Grandparents and Special Friends’ Day.  When I meet with the grandparents that morning, I will be focused on the difference between the education they received and that which is needed today.  The teachers those grandparents had probably had some idea of what their future might look like in 15 or even 20 years.  Indeed, when I was in high school, it was common for kids in Baltimore to go to work at Beth Steel right after graduation (or before), and have a good paying job, a pension and a small, paid-for house with a front porch on which we could rock away in retirement.  This is not the case with our kids today.  The fact is, we have no idea what 20, 15, or even five years from now will look like.  Paradigm shifts are occurring so quickly now that to predict the future our kids will face is nearly impossible.  Scary, isn’t it?

So, I told Ron that the draw that independent schools could have is that we allow students the “time and space to learn,” to delve deeply into subjects that increase our understandings.  A school like GreenMount prepares students for that uncertain future by making them independent learners who are creative, confident and capable.  All those projects, experiments, discussions and debates prepare our kids to be able to adapt to any situation.  This has been proven true on many occasions as our students are hailed as leaders and learners by the high schools they attend.  A phrase we have heard many times is, “Oh, you’re from GreenMount?  We love your kids!”

So, let’s celebrate the fact that our students are finding ways to “survive” in this unknown world we face.  They will be the leaders, the inventors, and the solution.

Happy Veterans’ Day             

Cheers, 

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (November 7, 2012)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            The election is finally over!  I never thought I would look forward to seeing commercials for free carpeting and deals on cars for which Jack says, “Yes!”.  Well, maybe that’s going too far. 

This has indeed been a season of information, and just maybe some misinformation, through which we all had to sift before ultimately making our decisions at the polls.  My voting experience was punctuated by comments I heard while waiting in line.  I vote at a senior center (appropriately) and the best comment I heard came from one of the residents.  A frail lady shuffling by noted the line and remarked, “This is terrible!” (referring to the long line).  “No, this is wonderful,” said one of her friends. “I haven’t seen this much enthusiasm since I was a younger woman.”  Indeed, the turnout at my polling place was exceptional and in a state where many people feel that the results are a foregone conclusion, I think we should be happy that we had the turnout that we did.  I was also impressed with the enthusiasm of voters.  People were friendly, talking about issues and expressing their points of view.  Now, if only the Congress can get together and follow their constituents’ example!

At today’s Morning Meeting, we discussed the expectation of treating others appropriately as listed under “Civility” as one of our Pillars.  I talked to the students about how all of us sometimes will gossip about someone who is not present because we might feel safe from a confrontation that would otherwise result from talking to the person directly.  I gave the example of how adults will sometimes do things while driving a car that they would not think of doing in person.  For example, adults sometimes cut in front of each other in their cars, but would be less likely to do the same while waiting in a line of people.  The car becomes our cocoon that protects us from the confrontation of person-to-person interactions.  Likewise, Facebook, tweeting and other cyber-communications protect us from that direct confrontation.  We discussed this idea and focused on how treating others appropriately include how we speak of them, even when they are not there.  The best GreenMount citizens do the right thing, even when no one is watching!

Cheers,

Steve