Monday, June 3, 2013

Weekly Message from Steve Warner, Head of School (June 3, 2013)

Greetings, GreenMount Community,

            Well, this is it - the last head message for 2012-2013.  And, as usual, another year has flown by.  We have had a great time with our three themes this year and I believe that it was a year in which our students grew exponentially.  We have seen a lot of progress.  The students are growing up also.  We see their faces change, their bodies shoot up, and their vocabulary increase.  I am sure they come home one day and parents say, “Who is this person?  How have they grown so quickly in such a short time?”  It does happen quickly, parents, so watch out.  Before you know it they will be headed to high school, dating, driving, and then going off to college, leaving you in the dust, wondering if you did all you needed to do as a parent.  And I must say that as a group of parents, you have done very well so far.  What a great bunch of kids we have here!  I am very proud to be the head of this school, which is like no other.  It is such a pleasant place to work, and my greatest joy is watching the students laugh and love learning.  Take a look at our philosophy:

We see our school as a diverse community where children are given time and space to
learn and the encouragement to succeed. Students develop academic, behavioral and personal skills that enable them to thrive in different environments.  The curriculum is
connected to or grounded in real-life experiences. Our learning environment is creative, multicultural, community based, and centered on experiential learning through thematic curricula.

Every staff meeting agenda begins with this philosophy so that we remain true to who we are as a school. In particular, I like the fact that we strive to be a diverse community, serving as many learning styles and personalities as we can.  In the collection of tee-shirt design entries this year is the word acceptance. It is important to the child who included that in their design that we are a school that teaches children to be accepting of others.  After all, when they get out in that big world on their own, they will meet people from all walks of life, people with disabilities, and people who don’t always fit whatever mold is the flavor of the day.  I think we empower our kids to be tolerant, and to me nothing is more important in the world we live in today.

A couple of reminders:

  • Check out the lost and found for clothing and lunch boxes, etc.  Everything is being displayed on the picnic bench in the front gated area.
  • Encourage your children to bring home all their art work.  They may not see the value of it today, but it is important to have these artifacts of their younger years.  I still have my daughter’s clay thing (not sure what it is, but it’s beautiful!)

Finally, have a great summer.  Come back safe and ready to take on another great GreenMount Year.
           
Cheers,

Steve