Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 29, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            We had an interesting morning today.  Our seventh and eighth grade students, some of their teachers and a good many very brave parents set off in the rain for Rocky Gap in Western Maryland and four days of camping.

Just to be clear, our students are not staying at the Rocky Gap Resort and Conference Center.  They will get off at the next exit for the campground, which is actually in Flintstone, Maryland.  I understand that they will be staying in rock cabins with showers that are fueled by mammoths.  The camp counselors, Mr. and Mrs. Rubble, will be teaching the students many things about rocks, including how to drive a foot-pedaled car made of wood and stone.  Ms. Elizabeth will also be along to lead the kids on hikes and discover the natural world of the western part of our state.  A return trip includes a tour of Sidling Hill, which is a great place to see some plants that grow nowhere else in the world and to see great examples of fossils exposed when “the cut” was made creating a road west right through the mountains.  The weather forecast looks better for Western Maryland than it does for here, so we hope they drive into some sunshine today.

            We were also privileged today to host Larry Kimmel, the founder of Team Larry.  Larry is a two-time cancer survivor and has been running 5K races for 16 years to support the Hopewell Center, a free cancer support facility for patients, their families and friends.  Larry spoke at our Monday Morning Meeting to celebrate GreenMount’s role in raising money for the center and for participating in this year’s 5K run. Recently, Chris Cucinotta and Genny Dalton established a new club at GMS to encourage running as a sport and healthy pastime. This club became one of the most popular clubs we have ever had, with many students joining and running every day.  The culmination of the club’s experience was the Hopewell run and being part of “Team Larry”.  Amazingly, the team raised over $14,000, with Angelina Cucinotta raising about $11,000 of that by herself.  Wow!  Larry made a presentation to our school from the “Reach Out and Run 5K” because we were the largest team in the race.  I am told that one of our students on the team, Will Kardas, came in first for the team. And that was with having to stop to tie his shoes twice!  Seeing Will come in the building every morning, I can understand why he was in first place in this run.

My doctor told me that jogging could add years to your life.  I think he was right.  I feel ten years older already! – Milton Berle

P.S. - Don’t forget to plan on attending the parent meeting next Monday at 6:30.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 22, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Today, our fourth and fifth grade students will be visiting the planetarium at Towson University, and between now and the end of the year, several other field trips are also planned.  We will visit a few museums, including the “Newseum”.  We have plans to see actual printing presses in operation and, of course, we have our camping trips coming up.  In fact, next week, seventh and eighth grade students will be camping at Catoctin in Western Maryland.  This is a great site and wonderful for hiking.

As a teacher, I took students on field trips to Catoctin myself as part of our study of Maryland.  An interesting experience occurred as we took a longer and different route on one hike.  We strayed from the marked trail and it wasn’t until we were confronted by two armed U.S. Marines that we realized that we were close to Camp David.  That was one of those memories of Mr. Warner’s class that my former students still talk about today.  Another was when I was demonstrating centrifugal force by swinging a bucket of water over my head to show that the force of the orbit of the bucket would keep it from coming out.  What the students really learned was that when a bucket’s arc is interrupted by an overhead light fixture the water will come out directly on the person swinging the bucket.  I was a great science teacher!

            Being the science teacher that I was (am), I will be conducting an experiment at lunch on Wednesday.  It’s a simple experiment.  I will weigh our two trash cans before students discard their trash and then once all the trash is collected.  The reason for this scientific activity is that it is apparent to me that our children throw away great quantities of food, especially on pizza day.  Whole slices are often discarded, and most students do not finish their pizza on Wednesdays.  I have talked to the students about wasting food and about how fortunate they are to have such abundance in their lives.  I will let the students know the amount of food they discard and then help them determine how many pizzas the discarded food would equal (based on the weight of one pizza).  Only discarded pizza will be placed in one can so as not to contaminate the experiment with other trash (very scientific).

            The point, parents, is that we all need to impress on our children the need to conserve the resources we have and also to make sure that when you pay for your child to eat pizza, he/she is actually eating it.  Please note that they have plenty of time to eat and I encourage anyone not finished to move to the risers and take their time with their food.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six. – Yogi Berra

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 15, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Mark Twain once said that the difference between the tax collector and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist only takes your skin (an awful visualization!).  So, today is April 15, in case you forgot; the day to pay our uncle his due.  I guess it’s good to joke about taxes, especially if you are one who actually owes the government at the end of the year.  But jokes don’t hide the fact that, as Americans, we have to support our government by working for it for as much as 28 percent of the time.  If you work a 40-hour work week, you are probably working between six and twelve hours for Uncle Sam.  There’s a happy thought…

However, the reality of this 100 year-old exercise is that our government needs us to pay the bills, to protect the country, to create and improve our infrastructure, and to pay our legislators for all their hard work and accomplishments on our behalf (pause for digestion).  And just remember, “There’s nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won’t cure.” – Dan Bennet

            This morning’s meeting was a special one as we were entertained and educated by Lindsey Bauer and her Elm City Dance Collective.  The performance was called Contemporanea, and combined contemporary modern dance with Capoeria ( pronounced Capoada).  Capoeria is a Brazilian martial arts dance that was used by slaves in Brazil in the 1600s to train for fighting while disguising their training in the form of a dance.  Today, we saw a demonstration of Capoeria, after which all of us learned four forms or “moves” that the dancers perform.  Also, a student from each grade was invited to “play” with one of the dancers using the moves we had all learned.  As our students danced we all sang a Portuguese chant and clapped to the rhythm of the dance.  It was a lot of fun and the students were exceptional.  I am very proud of our students and their willingness to try new things in front of their peers.  I was also very proud of everyone for being such a good audience.  To learn more about Elm City, visit their web site at www.elmcitydance.org.

           

             It looks like we are on the way to receiving approval for our new learning cottage, which students and teachers will occupy when we return from our summer break.  The new unit will be placed adjacent to the existing one and extend out toward the ball field.  In preparation for that installation, we will need a lot of help as we did when we installed the first unit.  This Saturday is a Co-Op Day and we need help clearing brush away from the fence, which will have to be moved once the new learning cottage arrives. The workday typically begins around 9:00 a.m.  If you need those hours, this is a great way to get them.

“Volunteers are not paid -- not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.”  Thank you in advance for helping us with this initial phase of getting our new classrooms.

Cheers,

Steve

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (April 8, 2013)

Greetings GreenMount Community,

            I believe that I said something about spring being here in the last head message.  I was correct technically, but we certainly did not have any weather that indicated the season.  And now it appears that we are preparing to jump right into summer.  Isn’t that just like Baltimore?  Tomorrow we may hit 80 degrees, which can be uncomfortable inside GreenMount.  Unlike a home HVAC system we just cannot change to air conditioning with the flip of a switch.  The city has to come out and reroute water and make some adjustments on the roof.  It’s a complicated process.  This means that we basically have to guess when to switch over, and given our temperamental weather, we are sure to have some days that are too hot or too cold.  So have your children dress so that they can add or subtract clothing as the day progresses.  We will survive as always.

            Attached to this newsletter is a notification of an exhibition by artist Timothy Horjus that will be presented at The Creative Alliance from March 9 to April 13.  The exhibition on the April 13 includes a dance performance by the Elm City Dance Collective and inspired by the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira.  This sounds like an interesting opportunity for families to enjoy a unique program together.  We also like to inform you of events at The Creative Alliance as we have toured their facility and have a relationship with the folks there.

Additionally, on the morning of April 15, the Elm City group will be performing here at GreenMount from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. We invite you to join us at that time for a free performance and a program that I know you will enjoy as you begin your week.

            This morning, as students came back to school, I saw lots of smiling faces.  The chatter and greetings reminded me of the unique nature of the children who attend GMS.  Basically, it boils down to the fact that our kids like being here.  This school is a big part of their lives and the happiness that shows as they return is evidence to me that school and learning is important to them.  And yes, friends are an important part of their feeling of belonging and satisfaction.  As long as we continue to have students learn to love learning, I will be satisfied as well.

            Among those returning today were the eighth graders who went to Costa Rica.  I haven’t heard all the details yet, but the students I talked with were more than happy with the experience.  I know what a great bonding opportunity this is for them and each has learned something about themselves that will give them confidence as they eventually face the world independently. The students will be presenting a program about their trip at Community Day on April 19.  Please make plans to attend so that you can understand why this program is so important for our students’ learning.

Cheers,

Steve